Grapefruit APA

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akegs

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I'm trying to make an APA for spring summer with lots of grapefruit flavor/ aroma in it . I'm trying to make it a noticeable flavor in the beer, however I don't want alcoholic grapefruit juice (that's what salty dogs are for). I was going to add the peels of 3-5 grapefruits to the boil for aroma, and some fresh squeezed juice to the secondary (pastuerized). Any one have experience with fruit flavors in beer? how much juice will i need for 5 gallons? I could always add the whole peeled fruit too, this is my first fruit beer:rockin:
 
I use orange flavors as a component of my Christmas Ale.

I use the vodka steep technique.

I zest five oranges (you don't want the white part of the peel as it's very bitter) and cover with vodka for a couple of days. Then strain off the liquid and add the appropriate amount of "tea" to keg or bottling bucket.

To determine the appropriate amount, I use a 1cc syringe marked in .1cc increments, and add as needed to a 100 mL sample. If you use the same volumes of orange (or grapefruit) and vodka each time, just record the ratio of tea:beer so that you don't have to re-evaluate each time you make it.

That said, Chinook and Cascade are both very good at providing nice grapefruit aromas without worrying about extractions and fruits...
 
Chinook gives a great grapefruit taste. I would try a simple 5gal batch of 8lbs 2 row, 1lb munich, 1oz chinook 60min, 1oz chinook15min and that should give you a grapefruity beer.
 
Try Arrogant Bastard next to Shiner's Pink Grapefruit...

AB uses all Chinook (at least, they used to) and Shiner uses pink grapefruit...I think they actually use the juice.
 
I guess i disagree with Chinook tasting like grapefruit. Chinook seems to be a bit dank, piney and with a touch of smoke flavor. Centennial of Falconers Flight would give a much better grapefruit taste and aroma.
 
Cascade is great for grapefruit aroma. As for grapefruit juice it might be a good idea to just add a bottle of simply grapefruit juice once primary fermentation has slowed.
 
Ive always read that amarillo has tons of grapefruit flavor. This weekend im doing an apa with amarillo and citra for some good tropical and grapefruit flavors, doing it for a good summer beer as well. And I'd zest the grapefruit, not sure how putting the whole peel in the boil will turn out, probably would just do it in secondary also. Good luck!
 
I guess i disagree with Chinook tasting like grapefruit. Chinook seems to be a bit dank, piney and with a touch of smoke flavor. Centennial of Falconers Flight would give a much better grapefruit taste and aroma.

This. All I ever get out of Chinook is dank pine resin. If you're looking grapefruit definitely Centennial or Cascade. Haven't used FF so can't vouch for that one.
 
Okay.
Chinook = Piney
Amarillo = Tangerine
Centennial = Grapefruit
Simcoe = Cat piss

I would never use grapefruit juice in a beer if I wanted grapefruit flavor or aroma. I would use a liberal amount of Centennial late in the boil. I've made many IPAs with Centennial as the only flavoring and aroma hop, and they give off a strong grapefruit flavor and aroma. I typically use 6-8 oz for flavoring/aroma per 5 gallon batch.
 
Did you ever brew it? I love a beer I had by tree House brewing that they used grapefruit juice at flameout.

I brewed one today and put in two pint glasses worth of simply grapefruit in at flameout and curious how it will turn out. I have lots of cascade, centennial, and 7 cs in it... C hops to the face...
 
I did brew it. I didn't hop it enough and went to easy on the malt bill so it came out lacking character and a little more grapefruit soda than I envisioned. I might give it another shot in the spring though and see if I can bring all the flavors together. The bitterness from grapefruit peel wasn't unwelcome but more hops would probably give it the fruit flavor I was looking for and some additional caramel malts would probably bring it all tpgether
 
I know I'm about a year late, but I was thinking about brewing up a Stone IPA clone and splitting it in half at secondary adding grapefruit zest and fresh squeezed juice to secondary. (I'm also using Chinook, Centennial, and Cascade dry hops). Anybody have an idea on how much grapefruit juice to add to 2.5 gallons in secondary, and can I add it right in thinking the alcohol should kill any bacteria? Like akegs, I don't want it to taste like grapefruit soda, just want that flavor to be there while still tasting like beer.
 
I've "dry hopped" 5.5 pounds of grapefruit before and it came out well. Soaked them in starsan, then scored the rind, quartered, and tossed them in. 7 days later I transferred to the keg
 
I used a sanitized fork and brushed it against the peel to make small cuts to release oils
 
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